MichelinStars

Tell Us Everything, Chef Daniel Boulud

In an era of celebrity chefs and big food personalities with TV shows, magazines and books, blogs and cookware lines, French chef Daniel Boulud is in some ways a throwback. A trained chef with farm roots and a fine-dining pedigree whose built a string of successful restaurants, now being replicated all over the world. Boulud is best known for his eponymous Manhattan restaurant Daniel, which this year earned him three Michelin stars – the Academy Award for Best Picture equivalent for a chef – it's considered the highest honor a restaurant can earn.

Gallery: Daniel Boulud Restaurants

Tags: bar boulud, cafe boulud, celebrity chefs, chef daniel boulud, daniel boulud, daniel boulud brasserie, daniel new york, DB Bistro Moderne, lumiere, maison boulud, michelin starred chefs, michelin stars, MichelinStars, new york chefs, new york dining, south beach food and wine festival

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Go Deeper into the Italian Dolomites at Rosa Alpina

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The New York Times just ran a lovely story encouraging travelers of the ski-enthusiast and foodie variety to head for Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Italian Dolomites. If you're looking for something that's just as luxey and lesser known in the US (which makes it more-luxurious by definition) I would nudge you just a bit further west and north into Alta Badia, and specifically to the tiny little town of San Cassiano.

Americans that visit the Alta Badia region and particularly San Cassiano tend to come in the summertime, for hiking and fishing. But in the winter, the area is mostly frequented by Italians, and for good reason: San Cassiano and its environs have all the scenery and the skiing, plus its restaurants are a tightly-knit constellation of Michelin stars -- apparently the highest Michelin star concentration in the Alps.

The place to stay here is Rosa Alpina with 51 rooms, three restaurants (including St. Hubertus, with two Michelin stars) It's owned by the Pizzinini family which fairly dominates hospitality in this area, having been in the hotel business here since the 1930s. The family owns hotels, restaurants and even the local butcher shop. This means that whatever you need is not only within the grasp of the management here, they're probably related to the people who can make it happen.

The clientele they cater to obviously expects nothing less. It was snowing on the day I arrived, and the winding mountain roads with their hairpin turns and minimal guardrails would have been difficult in a car without four wheel drive. One guest had his Porsche Carrera flat-bedded up the mountains so he could drive it during the weekend, having followed behind in a more sensible form of transport -- if you'll allow that sensible is a word that could at all be fairly applied to that entire situation.

Gallery: Rosa Alpina and San Cassiano

Tags: dolomites, frette, italy, luxist-awards, michelin stars, MichelinStars, prada, skiing

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Gordon Ramsay Loses A Michelin Star

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

With tax woes, debt and restaurant sales, 2009 was just not celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's year. But the start of 2010 isn't looking too bright either. As the Daily Mail reports, Ramsay's Gordon Ramsay At Claridge's restaurant has lost its Michelin star in the 2010 Michelin Guide.

Despite a food poisoning scare Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck at Bray in Berkshire held on to all three of its stars. The Waterside Inn in Bray also has three stars. The guide even awarded its first star to a London pub, The Harwood Arms.

Ramsay, who recently filmed a new cooking show set in India, is said to be disappointed to lose the star but determined to get it back. He indicated that the loss may have come because he offered simpler and less expensive meals to attract customers during the recession. Ramsay is the most high profile chef to lose his star in Great Britain and Ireland but he's not alone. Caterer Search reports that a total of 15 establishments lost stars. They include The Capital and Aubergine in London and Mint in Dublin.

Tags: gordon ramsay, gordon ramsay at claridges, GordonRamsay, GordonRamsayAtClaridges, london, michelin star, michelin stars, MichelinStar, MichelinStars